African American Skin Care Products must have the right ingredients to really work. Some ingredients should be avoided for black skin or any other type of skin. Using the right ingredients will give you the healthy radiant skin you want.

In this article I will show you which ingredients work and which ones to avoid. Some ingredients, for example, will cause hyper pigmentation while others will cause de-pigmentation.

Here is what all skin types should avoid and what all skin tones need.

Ingredients to Avoid

-Sodium methyl paraben (all parabens)

-Petroleum-based products

-Chemical bleaching agents

*Sodium methyl paraben can be found in many skin care products. It can affect the pigmentation of skin. Also parabens have been discovered in patients with breast cancer. So it is best to avoid these ingredients. Parabens, and there are many different kinds, basically are in a product as a preservative. There are safer ways to preserve a skin care product. I'll come to that in a minute.

*Petrolatum (petroleum jelly) is not skin friendly as it is often promoted. It clogs the pores of the skin. Also it can result in hyper pigmentation of skin. Other related ingredients to strictly avoid are propylene glycol, wood-based alcohols, mineral oil and any petroleum-based product. There are other safe ingredients you can use. Keep reading.

*Chemical bleaching agents - Chemical bleaching compounds should be avoided because they can damage skin. If you want a lighter skin tone or to even out skin spots, use a whitening agent that is safe. I would be happy to recommend one that I found that is very effective and very safe. See my website listed below.

Ingredients to Look For

Extra Pone Nut Grass

Natural Vitamin E

Nut grass is a very effective ingredient that is safe and will even out the tone of your skin. Interestingly, it doesn't take very much to do it.

Natural vitamin E is an antioxidant. Since it is an antioxidant it will usually help get rid of hyperpigmentation of skin. In other words, skin spots.

Sebum is our skin oil that also is our skin moisturizer. However, some of us have either too dry skin or too oily or some range in between. So skin problems can vary from one person to the next. But skin problems in general have nothing to do with black skin or any other tone. Skin is skin. What the problem usually is, is the product being used on the skin. Especially if it is petroleum based. Petrolatum feels good but it can do a lot of subtle harm. If you use a good moisturizer, like the one I use, you will have 90% of your skin problems solved.

Sebum comes from the sebaceous glands. All skin regardless of the tone have sebaceous glands. Some just produce differently in some individuals. Sebum is the natural moisturizer for our skin. Using alcohol on the skin can cause it to produce too much, resulting in oily skin. Jojoba and passion fruit extract are two ingredients you will want to include in your skin care regimen if you have dry skin.

Anti-Aging Ingredients

Anti aging products such lotions and creams are very popular right now. Many companies are promoting anti-aging products. But beware most of them don't work and could even make your skin worse. So what does work?

Functional Keratin is the most successful and effective of all the antiaging products I have researched. Functional keratin combined with Wakame kelp extract and antioxidants CoQ10 and natural vitamin E promotes the increase of new skin fibers and skin cells. Wakame helps prevent sagging by increasing skin firmness.

What causes harm to skin cells and other body cells is what is called free radicals. They basically go on a rampage and hurt other cells. The antidote is antioxidants found in compounds like vitamin E.

Important-Please Read

Remember this please, avoid any ingredient ending in paraben, (for black skin especially Sodium methyl paraben). Avoid all skin care and other products that list petrolatum as an ingredient. Don't even think about using a chemical bleaching agent. Use the ones I recommend because they work and are safe to the skin. See my website listed below for my personally tested skin cream. - Margaret Bell